5 More HTML5 APIs You Didn’t Know Existed

David Walsh

6 years ago

The HTML5 revolution has provided us some awesome JavaScript and HTML APIs. Some are APIs we knew we’ve needed for years, others are cutting edge mobile and desktop helpers. Regardless of API strength or purpose, anything to help us better do our job is a step in the right direction. I recently shared with you 5 HTML5 APIs You Didn’t Know Existed in the hope that some of them would inspire you to improve your own web apps. I’d like to share with you 5 more lessor known HTML5 APIs — hopefully you find some of them useful!

Any element can be pushed to fullscreen, and there’s even a CSS pseudo-class to allow some control over the screen while in fullscreen mode. This API is especially useful for JavaScript game development; especially first person shooters like BananaBread!

The getUserMedia API is incredibly interesting; this API provides access to device media, like your MacBook’s camera! Using this API, the <video> tag, and canvas, you can take beautiful photos within your browser!

There’s five more HTML5 APIs to research and tinker with. Keep in mind that these APIs will be used widely in a few years, so the sooner you get acquainted with them, the better you’ll be equipped to create world-class web applications. Take a few moments to explore these APIs and see what you can put together!